Door construction



oct. 21, 1941. v.1 .HQ1 M|-:s 2,259,819 l l DOOR CONSTRUCTION 1 FiledNov. 2e, 19:58 2 sheets-sheet 1 INVENTOR. VERNE L. HOLMES ATTORNEY.

Oct. 21, 1941. v. L. HOLMESA DOOR CONSTRUCTION Filed Nov. 26, 193s 2Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

r VERNE L. HOLMES BY E ATTORNEY.

Pa'tente ch4 Z1, 1941 ,aan

azsasis nooit CONSTRUCTION Verne L'nolmes, Los Angeles, cam. ApplicationNovember 2s, 193s, serial No. 242.494

(el. en -1c) 9 Claims.

This invention relates to balanced doors, and particularly contemplatesnovel supporting yapparatus for garage doors of the type disposed, whenclosed, in a vertical position, but movable into the garage upon beingopened, to a horizontal position substantially at the level of thelintel of the doorway.

It is usually desirable in overhead doors o! the character herecontemplated to mount the door supports on the opposite side walls ofthe garage. However, due to the variations in the width of the garageswith respect to the doorways thereof, each set of supporting structureior a door of this type must, in accordance with 'the prior art, bespecially constructed for each installation if the side walls of thegarage are to be used as a mounting. The supporting arms are usuallybent laterally -to reach the opposite walls on which they are pivoted.Accordingly, each installation requires specially designed hardware, themanufacture of which is not only expensive, but cannot be commenceduntil the particular requirements `are determined.r If straightsupporting arms are used, wall blocks must be employed to build out thesides of the walls to providethe mounting for the points of pivoting ofthe supporting arms which must lie in the same verticalplane, transverseto the door, as the points'of attachment, respectively,`of` saidsupporting armsto the door. As the arms necessarily extend into thegarage and are pivoted cntheir stationary mounting"4 at a levelsubstantially intermediate the upper and. lower extremities of thedoorway, they will, if so constructed, greatly restrict the useful areaof the garage.

It is a principal object to obviate the aforementioned decienciesof theprior art by the instable supporting mechanism readily adapted forinstallation in garages having considerable variation in the dispositionof the walls relative to the respective door lambs. Another object is toprovide supporting mechanism to swing the door on. a pivot at the middleof the door in a xed arc in combination with means to simultaneouslyswing .a lower portion of the door which is spaced' from the point ofypivoting of -the supporting mechanism Ato the door, a distance equal tothe radius of the aforesaid arc, in an arc having a center spaced vfromthe center of -the first-named arc. I l

Another object isthe provision of apair of supporting arms for each sideof the door pivoted at vertically spaced points thereon, said armshaving their opposite ends pivoted vat differenthorizontally-alignedpoints on a stationary support disposed laterally and at right angles tothe door.

Another object is to provide a door supporting Ifstructle adapted toswing the upper end of a .the door closed;

Fig. 2 isa section taken on lines 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an enlargedsectional view taken on lines 3-3 of Fig. l;

Fig'. 4 is an enlarged broken plan view of the pivotal and adjustableconnection of the supporting arm to the door;

Fig. 5 is a reduced elevation similar to Fig. 1 depicting lin solidlinesthe disposition ofthe parts with the door lin open position, and indotted lines'several intermediate kpositions of .the mechanism;

Fig. 6 is an elevation of the modied form of my invention;

`provision of a door construction embodying `ad Fig. '7 is a plan viewof the trat/ed' in Fig. 6; i

Fig. 8 is an elevation partly broken away of the composite supportingarm of the modied .embodiment hereof.

modication illus- Referring to the drawings in detail, the numerels ofwhich indicate similar parts throughout the several views, l@ designatesan inner sur'- iace of the side wall of a garage, and Il the studdingtherefor. The roof of the garage is shown in broken section as at i2.The door .lamb

and lintel ofthe garage doorway are indicated by trated in Fig. 1 tothat shown in Fig. 5, a wall board I8 is secured in horizontal positionto studs II of the wall I'0 of the garage. lOn the adjacent verticaledge of the inner surface of the door Il an angle iron I1 is bolted orotherwise secured, which braces the door and provides a vmeans ofattachment for a supporting arm about to be described. y

Referring particularly to the embodiment of my invention illustrated inFig. l: An angle bracket I8 is secured to the rear surface of the towardor further away from, respectively, the end of supporting arm 21 whichis attached to the tubular member. The tension of the spring,

door substantially intermediate its upper-and v lower extremities andspaced laterally of lthe angle iron I1. Horizontally aligned bearingsare carried by the angle iron I1 and bracket I8, respectively, in whichthe ends of a spindle I8 are journalled. A lug 20 has integral portions2l thereof turned around spindle I8 and is provided with an arcuate slot22. 'I'he ilattenedend 22 of a tubular member 24 is pivoted to lug 22 bymeans of a pin 25, the axis of which comprises the, center of the arc ofthe slot 22. A bolt 28 extends through arcuate slot 22 and the flattenedend 23 of member 24 to hold the member and lug in any desired adjustedangular relation.

A supporting arm 21 is provided, having its ends 28 and 29'bent in thesame direction. One of said ends 28 is extended into the tubular member24 and is secured therein by means of setl screws 80. The opposite end28 of the supporting arm 21 is received in a pipe 8| and secured in alike manner by set screws 82. A horizontal shaft 28 extends transverselythrough a hole in the opposite end of pipe 8| to which the pipeis weldedor otherwise immovably secured. Shaft 88 is journalled in a bearingfitting 24 secured to the wall board I5 which is secured to the studs IIof the side I of the garage -as above noted. A cotter key 25 in the endof shaft 88 opposite to the end on which the pipe 8I is secured preventsdisplacement of the shaft from fitting' 84.

Between the fitting and the garage door a plate 86 is secured to thewall board, which plate carries a pin 81 in horizontal alignment withshaft 28. One end of bar 88 is journalled on pin 81 and the oppositelower` end of bar 28 is pivoted to angle iron I1 adjacent the lower endof the door by means of a pin 89.

It will thus be observed that by the elevation of'the door toward itsopen horizontal position, 50-

the middle of the door will be swung on an arc having a center on theaxis of spindle I8 while the bar 88, due to the advance location of thepin 21 on the wall board with respect to shaft 82l will simultaneouslytiltthe door on spindle I8 toward a horizontal position and swing thelower end of the door to a position adJacent the lintel. As a result ofpivoting the bar 88 to the wall I8 in advance of shaft 88, the upper endof the door will move in a flat arc requiring very little verticalclearance above the level of the lintel I4.

To facilitate this operation, ahelical spring 48 is provided having oneend connected byl means 4of a clip 4I to a bracket 42 secured to thewall I8 tional construction fastened to the supporting arm 21. Spring 48 thus exerts an upward pull on arm 21 tending to swing the door to openposition. Tension of the spring, as well as its leverage on the doorsupporting structure, may be inirrespectivepf its leverage'on thesupporting arm, may be varied by hooking the spring in different linksof the chain 48.

The embodiment of Figs. 6, 7, and 8 is 'adapted for installation ingarages wherein the distances between the door iamb I8 and the wall IIIor other available mounting for the ends of the door supporting membersis different, by providing for lateral adjustment in both supportingmembers at each side of the door. The supporting arm 21 of thisembodiment is identical with that of the embodiment of Figs. 1 to 5, theeffective length of which arm may be extended .or contracted by reasonof its telescopic reception of its ends by the sockets afforded by thebores of the tubular members 24 and pipe 2|, so as to compensate forwide variations in vthe relative lateral disposition of the wall boardI8 and door I5. The bar 88,` however, is substituted by a compositesupporting arm 48 comprising a tubular member 41 having a flattenedlower end 42 which is pivoted on a pin 48. One end of a pipe 58 extendsinto the bore of the tubular -member and is secured therein by setscrews 5I. The upper opposite end of the pipe 58 is flattened as at 52and is provided with an arcuate slot 58 for a purpose about tobedescribed. Another section of the composite arm 42 comprises a pipe I4having flattened ends I8 and 82. One of saidv ends 58 is secured to theupper end of pipe 58 by means of a pin 51 coaxial with the arc of saidslot I8 and a bolt 52 extending through the arcuate slot whereby pipe 84may be turned on the pin 51 laterally relative to pipe III and held inany angular relation thereto by the bolt I8. For attachment of the upperend of the pipe 54 a foot 58 is mounted rigidly on a spindle 88 whichextends through a bearing 8l carried by a face plate 22 bolted to thewall board. 22 indicates a cotter key through the end of spindle 88 toretain the latter in bearing 8l in an obvious m'anner. I'he 28 inhorizontalv and parallel alignment withV the shaft 82. The upper end l2of the pipe I4 is pivoted to the foot 58 by a pin 84 and is secured inany pivotal adjusted position by a belt 85 extending through theflattened end 5l of the pipe and through an arcuate slot 88 in the foot,sanildxlot having its center on the axis of the p The apparatusdescribed is quickly andeasily installed in garages having doorways ofdifferent widths with respect to the distances between the walls,without any of the parts thereof being specially built, by reason of themany adiustments provided. It will be observed that the distance betweenthe spindle I8 and shaft 88 will depend upon both the height of the door(it being desirable to pivot the supporting arm in the middle o'f thedoor to permit balancing) and the lateral offset relationship of thespindle the requirements oi' a particular Job by varying the degree-oftelescopic extension of the ends of thesupporting arm 21 in the tubularmember 24 and pipe 8I respectively. Variations.. in diiferent sarageainthe angle between the plane of the door and a line through door spindleI8 and shaft 28 due to differences in the proximity creased or decreasedby moving thc clamp Y4I 75 of the wall of the garage with respect to theside edge of the door, may be compensated by in a. position with bothends and the portion ofthe angular adjustment of the tubular member 2lon pin 25. Adjustments tor length and angular relationship of thecomposite arm 46 may be made in a similar manner as will be ob' viousfrom the above.

While I have described but two embodiments the arm therebetween lying inthe same vertical of my invention, it will be understood thatnumerouschanges in size, number, proportion and shape of the variousparts may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention asdeilned in the appended claims. ,l

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a door construction, an arm having its ends bent to extendparallel to the same vertical plane, a pipe pivoted to a mounting, atubular member pivoted to the door, the ends of said arm beingtelescopically received by said pipe and tubular member, respectively,means to secure said. arm ends within said pip'e and member at `anydegree of telescopic extension of saidarm .within said pipel and tubularmember, and a spring having one end secured to a mounting rearwardly ofthe door and-its opposite end secured to said arm with the springsubstantially axially aligned with the point of pivoting of said memberto the door.

2. In a door construction, a supporting arm, means to pivot one end ofsaid arm to the door v to swing laterally and vertically of the door,and means to pivot the other end'of said arm to a mounting to permit thearm to swing laterally and vertically lof the mounting, saidarmcomprising an end section pivoted to the door and a second oppositeend section pivoted to a mounting and an intermediate portion, means tosecure said end sections to said intermediate portion at diierent pointsalong the length of said portion 'to vary the length of said arm, asecond arm having one end pivoted to a mounting atl a point spaced fromthe point of pivoting o! said ilrst-named arm to its'mounting, and meansto pivotally connect the opposite end of said arm gto' the door.

3. In a 4door construction, a pair of arms pivoted to said door atdiiierent points thereon and to stationaliI mountings spaced from oneanlother, each of saidV arms comprising a pair of members pivotallyjoined by a pin tol permit anguiar adjustment between said members, and

means to secure said members against movement with respect to oneanother on said pin.

4. 4In a door constructiomia stationary mounting piece.' an arm havingits ends bent in the I same plane, means to pivotally attach one end ofsaidarm to said stationary .mounting piece in a position with both endsandthe portion of the arm therebetween lying in the same vertical plane,a member pivotally connected to the door, and means to secure saidmember to the end of said arm opposite to the end thereof whichisattached to said mounting piece for relative rotaltion betweenV said armand member.

5. In a door construction, a stationary mounting piece, an arm havingits ends bent in the same plane, means to pivotally attach one end ofsaid arm to said stationary mounting piece.

plane, and means to connect the opposite end of said arm to the doorwith said last-named end rotatably adjustable on its own axis, saidlast-named means including a horizontal pivot for movement of the arm ina vertical arc with -4 respect to the door.

6. In a door construction, a stationary mounting piece, an armcomprising a pair of sections connected for variable angular adjustmenttherebetween, means to pivotally connect -opposite ends of said arm tosaid mounting piece' and door, respectively, a second arm comprising apair of sections connected for variable angular adjustment therebetween,means to pivotally connect one end of said last-named arm to themounting piece in horizontal alignmentl with the point of connection ofthe first-named arm thereto but at a point spaced therefrom, and to thedoor below the point of connection of the ilrstnamed armor the door.

7. In a door construction, -a stationary mounting piece, an armcomprising a pair of sections connected for variable angular adjustmenttherebetween, means to pivotally connect opposite ends of said arm tosaid mounting piece and door, respectively, a second arm comprising apair of sections connected for variable angular adjustment therebetween,means to pivotally connect one end of said last-named arm to themounting piece at a point spaced from the point of .connection ytheretoof said first-named arm,

and to the door below the point of connection of the iirst-named ann tothe door.

8. In a door construction, a door, a stationary mounting, an arm havingone end pivoted to said mounting and its opposite end -pivoted to thedoor, resilient means contractible and extensible alongits longitudinalaxis, means to s ecure said resilient means to said stationary mountingrearwardly of said door, and means carried by said arm and disposed inalignment withthe points f attachment of said resilient means to theVmounting and of said arm to the door, respectively, .when the door isin closed position, for attachment 'of the opposite` end ot' saidresilient means.

9. In a door construction, an arm end pivoted tothe door at a pointthereon .slightly above the middle of the door and its opposite endpivoted to a mounting in horizontal alignment with said-last-named pointoi pivoting, said arm being of a length substantially equal to thedistance vertically between the point of pivoting o! said arm'to thedoor when the latter is closed and the horizontal plane in which saidlastnamed point of pivoting lies when the door is open, and a second armhaving one end pivoted' vaaN L. Home.

having one

